Many classroom have students whose first language is not English. Often times this is a challenge for educators who have not had any training in how to teach ELL students or how to create an environment that will foster their English language acquisition.
Please read the section 'Additional Methods for Positively Engaging Parents of Second Language Learners' in your textbook and watch the following YouTube video entitled, English Language Learners by Kimberly Williams & David Guo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2ap4Q5uxGE) and address the following questions:
1. In the video there are several challenges listed that ELL students must overcome to be successful in classrooms. Which of these have you done in your classroom when helping ELL students and what was the student's response?
2. Using either the video or textbook, or both, what do you fell are the three most important parent involvement techniques a teacher can implement? Why do you feel these are the "Top Three"?
I have never had any ELL students in my classroom. When I student-taught, there were three Bosnian students who were very proficient in English but their parents were not. If the students were not proficient, one important thing that I would have done was to create a warm and welcoming environment for them to be in. I would have studied their culture and adapted some lessons to accommodate them and their culture. The Rosetta Stone Technique is a very good thing to utilize in the classroom. This helps the students to see the English words as well as their native language. Also, bringing in volunteers who spoke their language would help “bridge the gap”.
ReplyDeleteWriting and distributing bilingual parent handbooks are very important. Parents need to know what is going on in their child’s education and how the school is educating their child. During conferences, home visits, or any activity involving the parents, make sure there is an interpreter present to translate. Do not rely on the child to do this because you do not know what they are going to say or how they are going to say it. Also, hosting social events is a great thing to do. Have the translator present. This will allow the parents to communicate with each other as well as the teacher.
I feel that these are the top three because they are very effective ways of communicating. The bilingual handbook is necessary and a legality that the parents are entitled to. The translator is important because they can relay information between teacher and parents effectively and proficiently. The social events are important because the parents get to socialize and get a sense of community. All of these things will help parents want to do more for their children and the teachers if they see that the teachers and school are working with and for them.
In my childcare experience one instance comes to mind of an ELL learning experience. We had a toddler come in at 2 that had been at home with his grandparents who only spoke Spanish. The child’s parents were from another country and his mother was here as a dr. She had finished her residency and was working at a local hospital. This child spoke no English at all. I like a challenge. What my room teachers and I did first was teach the child some basic sign language, since we were already teaching that as a tool for toddlers to express themselves. We then asked the parents to give us a list of words that would help us communicate if we needed them. We would say them in English, as well as, Spanish. We asked our director to get us books of basic words and phrases. Circle time consisted of teaching all the children Spanish, English, and Sign Language. We taught colors, shapes, days of the week, food, animals, some key phrases (please, thank-you, sit down, walk) and things like that. Daily communication was the key; we wanted to make sure that we were teaching it right, so the father would come in the afternoon at naptime and give us a mini lesson for 15 minutes to a half hour, when he was available. Parents, both English and Spanish, were pleased with their child’s progress. They were amazed at how much each child could learn. I believe that the sooner a child can be exposed to different cultures; the better they will be able to understand different ethnic groups. I remember some of my words and the experience was a great one for me. I am able to carry on a basic conversation with my small nephew, whose mother is from Mexico, I can’t understand everything, but I wouldn’t have been able to understand anything if I wouldn’t have had this experience.
ReplyDeleteAt the school where I work we have an ELL teacher that is in many classrooms in the morning. If we have a question we are able to ask her. I have seen her call home to translate to parents what she feels is happening in class. She has talked to our interpreter and tried to get them to talk with parents if she is unable to get in contact. She is a very caring person and tries to help everyone she can. We have had an ELL student in our Math and Reading /Literature classes. We got them on a program with the school, made contact with their parent and other relatives that are able to help out, we have provided a computer program to help translate words and math phrases in English to Spanish, and try to encourage the child to use both equally. I think parent contact is most important because if the parent is involved all parties can feel like they are involved in their child’s success. Having the parent or uncle come to the school has been a great asset. The student feels important and works harder. By having materials available to be translated into Spanish the child feels more successful in the classroom. Since the child has been in the ELL program in the school, they have started to hand in homework and are getting better grades. The best thing I think the teacher did was to get to know the student and family. Having an interest in the child has helped to create a feeling of success and contentment in school. The principal is an advocate for all the families and tries to do his best to keep everyone on the same page. Having a staff that cares is often the key to success in a school system.
Parent involvement techniques that I think are important are regular phone calls home to let the parent know what is going on and how the student is doing. This involves all parties and makes the parent feel just as important in their child’s success. Another thing that I like is to invite parents to the school to see what we are doing and have them make suggestions on how we can make students feel more comfortable, as well as, the parent. The third thing I really like is to have a parent come in and teach students things about another culture. I know I learn a lot more through experiences.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the bilingual handbook is a key. I know that having just a few books with translations helped me with my experience. I agree with the interpreter and staff advocates. I too, agree that if everyone works together to help a child we can all become successful in helping the student.
Making the parent feel comfortable and part of the child's success is a great way to help the student. If parents feel involved they can become a teacher's best source to a child's education.
Keeping parents involved in their child's education seems to be the key. I hope that I will be able to use all of the suggestions and learn from my mistakes, so that I can be an advocate for teachers, parents, and student.
1. I haven’t had to deal with any ELL students right now, but having to be one that was an ELL student I know a little about it. I started the American school system when I was in the 2nd grade not knowing to much of the English language. I had to start from the beginning; there were a lot of picture books being used and flash cards that had pictures and words. I had a specialist teacher that would help with putting sentences together. I had a great support group; I still take a little longer reading and understanding what I read sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWith an ELL student you have to be patient and understanding. Use what they know and bring in their own culture a little with the learning. Use Critical thinking make them try to think on their own feet and monitor what they are learning. Have plenty of resources available. Words with pictures around the room work really well.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had a great support system. I think that is a key issue, so children don't fall through the cracks. As teachers a lot of the responsibility falls on us to educate all children; by using all the resources available to us through the computers and books it will help to teach. A good parent support group and having a translator is also helpful, unfortunately with many budget cuts, there are not as many resources available. Parent contact is a resource that we need to try to use in order to make all children, staff, and parents feel they are helping in their student's education process. Patience and understanding is a key factor and always makes children feel successful.
2. The 3 most important parent involvement techniques a teacher can implement are
ReplyDeletea. Keeping Parents informed: Sent out daily notes letting parents know what the child did today and how they did. I use this right now in my three old rooms. In elementary I am thinking monthly letters telling the parents what they are learning that month, what they have learned and any other special notes or upcoming events that might be useful for the parents to know. Middle school and high school it might be good to have a webpage for each of the class. Since students at this time have different teachers it would be easier to have a website that tells the parents all about the class, grades, and assignments due. I believe these are easy ways of communication methods with parents.
b. Having an orientation meeting/back to school events. This is a great way to meet all the parents and get to know the children a little better. Have them fill out a little questioner about how the child learns, what they like, and what the parents would like to see the child learn this year. At this time have some volunteer sign up sheets so that parents can help out in the classroom during special event or reading groups. In the earlier year of schooling parents seem to be more willing to help in the classroom.
c. Parent conferences- This is the time where the parents learn their child’s achievements, what was learned, grades and any concerns. Having a face to face meeting and talking about the child’s progress provides the parents a better understanding.
Holli,
ReplyDeleteHaving the parents come in and teach something is a great experience for everyone involved and I'm sure they enjoy doing it. Having a great supportive staff really goes a long way. Having positive collaboration and being able to team up to accomplish something such as that phone call home really makes things easier. Having things in English and the second language is user friendly for all and it shows that you are thinking of everyone. Gaining the support of parents is essential in making learning a success for the kids.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of first-hand experience. You know what is important to have and what really helps. Having a bilingual website is a great idea as nearly everyone has access to computers. The face to face interactions at conferences and open houses offer support and positive meetings. Establishing that parent relationship, no matter what barriers exist, is very important. Utlize the resources you have and everyone can be successful.
Its JoDee and I finally figured this out! Shhheeesh!!!
ReplyDeleteHolli: I think learning ethic background is very important at an earily age. Right now we arent doing so much with spanish anymore at the daycare that I am at, and I think it is more because I don't have any of the resources available to me. I'm thinking for that reason we don't have to many of different ethic groups at my work place. But I would always welcome the challenge of learning something new. Parent involvement with this would be truely cruital. I think with out them it would take a lot longer to learn about the child and teach them what they have to know.
ReplyDeleteEmily: I really like your ideas. Parent involvement is the #1 way a student can succeed much easier. Having volunteers that speak their language makes the child feel more welcome in their classroom; poster with pictures and words always works best. I like the handbook idea where it is written in other languages, and the interpreter which I think would make the parent feel just as welcome instead being out of place and not understanding what is going on with thier childs learning.
ReplyDeleteI currently have a young girl who is Indian and she speak Spanish but her parents want her using English at school. The other day mom was talking to her in Spanish so she is using her primary language at home and English at school. I help her by giving her enough time to process what I said and then give her a picture Que and as last result I model it to her using hand over hand or just modeling.I have posters of different cultures, countries, and nationalities in my room. I have book the are multicultural. We count everyday in Spanish up to ten, my student is a big help, she sings loud and clear guiding the others (typically a quite child)but, the others enjoy it. I also teach sign language to my non-verbal two's to help them communicate their needs.
ReplyDelete#3 most important things
1. to respect the cultural values and build on them. The student in my class is a vegetarian so, we provide meals that Mom has provided ingredients and instruction for.
2. Offering orientations where a translator maybe present and use welcoming videos.
3.Label the environment with all the languages of your class.
Again, I don’t have any personal experience working with ELL students, but I will discuss some things I see in effective teachers in my building. As noted in the video, I also see effective teachers building on the strengths that these students already possess. Instead of totally starting from ground zero, once a teacher discovers something the student is good at, or is interested in, then the teacher builds from that key attribute to teach the skills or information. I also notice that ELL students who are the most successful in our school are also in classrooms that are extremely supportive and caring towards their personal challenges and goals. Of course any student in a classroom like this usually does better. However, I think ELL students really get lost sometimes if they’re not in a supportive classroom.
ReplyDeleteHere is my list of the top three parent involvement techniques a teacher can implement when working with ELL students:
1. If possible, use parents as a bridge in English language development. Of course this would work best if parents could come into the school and assist during the lesson…well…I’ll wake up from my dream. However, parents could take some time to better explain definitions in their first language to help create connections in their child’s mind in attempting to learn English.
2. Create a warm environment for parents. As a teacher, you want parents to feel comfortable if they visit their child’s school. Invite them into your classroom to teach the students about their culture, their food, their lives, etc. The more the student’s know about each other, their parents, their cultures, then the deeper their bonds will be between all of them.
3. Respect cultural values. Any teacher with a culturally diverse classroom must do their best to learn about the customs of the children their teaching. What might be ok in rural Iowa might be HIGHLY offensive to some other culture. Teachers are only human too, and we all make mistakes, but it would behoove any educator to do their homework on their student’s families, and try not to step on too many toes.
Kelli: It sounds like you’re really doing your best for your Spanish speaking student. It seems like you’re taking her strengths (singing loud, etc), and letting her shine. Your classroom seems to be set up really well too as far as acknowledging and appreciating the variety of cultures that are represented in your classroom and community. It’s great that your students can feel welcomed and appreciated in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteAnna- I had no idea that you didn’t start school in America until second grade. I would really like to know more about your story. Anyhow, it sounds like you’ve really transferred your own personal experiences into classroom. I think that you truly have an understanding of what many ELL students go through. I also believe that you’re better equipped with having that understanding and knowledge that sometimes can only come through personal experience.
ReplyDeleteJust today I worked with an ELL student. He is a second grader who speaks Arabic. He often shuts down and does not try. I had a friend once that was Arabic. I told him about my friend and then I told him I knew some Arabic and I told him my friend use to say "Habibi" when he would talk to me. The little boy started giggling and laughing and he said well he likes you. That means I like you. So then I told him how smart he was because his brain is learning Arabic and English. I asked him if he could show me how he writes his name in Arabic. Then since we were working on math I asked him to write the Arabic numbers next to the English numbers on the number line. Just making that connection between the two languages and showing I had interest in his culture really helped build his confidence and he was adding and subtracting like no ones business. The teacher even asked me how I got him out of his shell. She noticed that he was actually talking to me and he does not talk to other students or staff very often. I felt very good about my time with this student.
ReplyDeleteSome of the challenges that have been met in the classroom for ELL’s include:
ReplyDelete• the amt. of unfamiliar vocabulary
• word order/sentence structure may be different
• large amt. of figurative language in the English text
• grammar usage and all exceptions to the rules
• imagery and symbolism in our text is difficult
• unfamiliarity with drawing conclusions, analyzing characters, and predicting outcomes
• story themes and endings may be hard to explain
• unfamiliar with the meanings of words
• use of homonyms and synonyms may be difficult
• verbal abilities may not match what they actually know
• may be reluctant to express themselves
I have not had the opportunity to work any ELL students in the past.
The three most important parent involvement techniques a teacher can implement include:
• creating bilingual parent handbooks
• create a warm environment for parents
• draw on the strengths of the minority parents
JoDee,
ReplyDeleteAwesome, it sounds like you made a break through that is going to help that little boy for the rest of his journey through school. I would ask to take notes and put it into his file, that way future teachers can help him build confidence through sharing his culture.
Chad,
ReplyDeleteI have noticed my young Spanish girl has trouble with the story time discussions and songs. I had a copy of our favorite songs made on a CD for Mom and it has made a huge difference in the young girls participation at circle time when we sing. We are still working on story predictions.
I have never had to deal with ELL students but I think it is very important to know what each students families view is on english and school. Some of these families have a strong belief that their children need to work hard to adopt and be part of their new enviroment but on the other hand you will have students who's parents are more worried about their own cultural idenity.
ReplyDeletehere are the three tools I would use to help these students
1)beganing of the year parent teacher meeting, I believe it is important to sit down in a comfortable enviroment will each ell students parents and find out their views and what they are expecting out of you and their students when it comes to school and adapting to their new surroundings
2)use an Interputer, interputers can step in and resolve issues when a child just cant express themselves in english they can tell the interputer what that wanted to say and you can turn that around and use that to show the student the same thing in english
3)use former ELL students, when you bring in older kids who have been through the same thing the younger students see that it does work it can be done and it is important
Lyle - It sounds like if you ever have the chance to work with and ELL student you will know where to start and some strategies to teach the student.
ReplyDelete